1 . The Taj Mahal(泰姬陵)is a love story, a sad and beautiful one. If it didn’t exist, we would easily imagine that the story of its construction was simply a fairy tale. Three hundred years ago, there lived an Indian emperor called Shah Jahan. His wife was a beautiful and bright woman whom he loved greatly. Her title was Mumtazl
Mahal: its shortened form Taj Mahal, means “pride of the palace”. In the year 1630 this beloved wife of the emperor died. He was so brokenhearted that he thought of giving up his throne(王位). He decided out of his love for his wife, to build her the most beautiful tomb that he had ever seen.
He summoned the best artists and architects from India, Turkey, Persia and Arabia and finally, the design was completed. It took more than twenty thousand men working over a period of 18 years to build the Taj Mahal, one of the most beautiful buildings in the world.
The building itself stands on a marble platform 29 meters square and 6—7 meters high. Towers rise from each of the four comers. The Taj Mahal itself soars another 61 meters into the air. It is an eight-sided building made of white marble.
The emperor planned to build an identical(相同的)tomb of black marble for himself on the other side of the river connected by a silver bridge. However, his son put him into a prison in the palace before he could finish, and for the rest of his life, he could only gaze across river at the tomb of his beloved wife.
1. Why was the Taj Mahal built according to the passage? Because________.| A．Shah Jahan was heartbroken after the death of his wife |
| B．Shah Jahan loved his wife greatly |
| C．his wife was a beautiful and bright woman |
| D．his wife was the “pride of the palace” |
| A．the Taj Mahal was completed quickly owing to the efforts of the best artists and workers |
| B．a lot of people took part in the building of the Taj Mahal |
| C．the Taj Mahal and Shah Jahan’s own tomb were built at the same time |
| D．the Taj Mahal is the most beautiful tomb in the world |
| A．four-sided | B．eight-cornered | C．black-colored | D．white-colored |
| A．he died soon after his wife’s death | B．he was killed by his son |
| C．he gave up his throne | D．he was put into prison by his son |
| A．the story of the Taj Mahal |
| B．a beautiful fairy tale |
| C．white and black marble tombs made for two emperors |
| D．the love story of Emperor Shah Jahan and his wife |
2 . That the Leaning Tower of Pisa no longer leans quite so much after a ￡20 million project to save it has proved to be a great success.The tower,which was on the edge of collapse,has been straightened by 18 inches,returning it to its 1838 position.
“It has straightened a little bit more than we expected,but very little helps,”said Prof.John Burland,the only British member of the rescue committee.“The tower is still very slightly moving towards being upright.”
The tower,which has been leaning almost since building work first began in 1173,was closed to the public in 1990 because of safety fears.The 183-foot tower was nearly 15 feet off vertical and its structure was found to have been weakened by centuries of strain(作用力).
Prof.Burland said it could have collapsed “at any moment”.However,it took nine years of quarrelling before any work was done.The last attempt at straightening the tower was carried out.Concrete(混凝土) was poured into the foundations,but the result was that the tower sank further into the soil.
The straightening work involved digging out around 70 tonnes of earth from the northern side of the tower,causing it to sink on that side.Before the digging started,the tower was fixed with steel ropes and 600 tonnes of lead weights.
However,halfway through the project,concerns at the ugliness of the lead weights led to their removal and the tower leaned greatly.The weights were hurriedly reattached.One night,the tower moved more than it had averaged in an entire year.The tower’s stonework has also been restored.
The Italian government stepped in after a tower collapsed in Pavia in 1989,killing four people.Experts suddenly realized that the tower at Pisa,which was similarly built and on the same sort of earth,could do the same.
1. What would be the best title for the passage?| A．The Building of the Leaning Tower of Pisa |
| B．Saving the Leaning Tower of Pisa |
| C．The Collapse of the Leaning Tower of Pisa |
| D．The History of the Leaning Tower of Pisa |
| A．closed for the straightening work in 1990 |
| B．began to lean more than 800 years ago |
| C．has a history of more than 1,000 years |
| D．has become vertical |
| A．The development of new technology. | B．The advice of Prof.John Burland. |
| C．The expectation of the rescue committee. | D．The collapse of a tower in Pavia. |
| A．The lead weights fixed to the tower. |
| B．Restoring the stonework. |
| C．Pouring concrete into the foundations. |
| D．Digging earth from the southern side of the tower. |
| A．The position of the tower has been restored to what it was 182 years ago. |
| B．Hundreds of years of strain has weakened the tower’s structure. |
| C．The tower doesn’t lean any more after the straightening work finished. |
| D．People spent nine years in discussing about the straightening work. |
